Four Seasons
by sailordarke
Summary: With Akatsuki after Naruto, and Orochimaru preparing for war on Konoha, Sakura was faced with some tough choices. Especially since she's already Akatsuki's prisoner. Eventual SasuSaku, slight ItaSaku.
1. Chapter 1: Winter

Disclaimer: Of course I don't own Naruto.

* * *

_Where_...

The pain in her fingers was agonizing, if she could feel them through the numbness in her head. Her feet hurt, but the pain was dull. Her foggy mind was trying to go to sleep, but she didn't let herself. She had a concussion. She knew, because she'd had one before. And head wounds were tricky.

Chances were, if she closed her eyes, she'd never wake up again.

So she stared at the ceiling carefully, and looked at something else when it began to swim before her eyes.

She wanted to impress him. Itachi.

Because that meant that Naruto was still alive.

* * *

"_Where is he?_"

Not here.

"_If you tell me where he is, I can take you to Sasuke_."

He'll kill you.

"**Mangekyou Sharingan**."

* * *

Ninjas had a limited life expectancy, despite the Third Hokage's living nearly seventy years. If your job was to spy, kill or defend, you rarely put on many years.

If you were captured by the enemy, your life expectancy was reduced to days and weeks instead of months and years. If you were captured by Akatsuki, chances were your life expectancy dropped down to seconds and minutes instead of days. And if you had information, a will stronger than steel, and were _really_ lucky, you had a small chance of rising to hours instead of minutes.

Since Sakura had been Itachi's captive for two days already, she figured that she could rate among _God_ status. If she ever made it back to Kohona, she could bump straight to Jounin, and be _Hyuuga Neji_'s superior.

Just the thought made her smile. She wondered what he'd think about _that_.

* * *

"_There's a simple way to stop this._" 

**But I'm having so much fun**.

"_Just tell me where the demon is, and I'll let you live._"

Liar.

"**Mangekyou Sharingan**."

* * *

If she thought about it, Itachi wasn't so bad. He never put her through more than an hour's torture. He wanted her to talk.

He made her stronger.

He'd been surprised when she'd devised a way to combat his _Mangekyou Sharingan_. That she could disappear to a place he could never find her, even when in her head. That she could close her eyes while he stabbed her repeatedly, and not even feel him anymore.

He'd been curious. So he'd tested her. One finger at a time, he broke them all. In the real world. And he'd watched her eyes closely, watched her try to stare him down. Try not to flinch. And disappear within herself.

_Interesting_, he'd told her.

Then she began to see it. Every time he tortured her. Afterward, he'd give her a sip of water. And there would be affection in his eyes.

Because she wasn't weak?

* * *

"_Do you still resist_?"

I won't let you touch him.

"_It won't last. We **will** find him._"

You'll die.

"**Mangekyou Sharingan**."

* * *

When she had a spare moment, she tried to understand how she could resist. She guessed it was because of her other self. When she was in pain, it would protect her. It would get her away from it all. He wouldn't understand that because in her head, he saw only what he wanted to see. He didn't know how to look for another.

Since Sasuke's disappearance, under Tsunade's influence, she'd learned how to let Inner Sakura out more. She'd begun to merge the two personalities. Itachi had been the object that separated the two once more. As much as Sakura grew, Inner Sakura was becoming a battle-hardened veteran. Sakura decided that she could live with that, surrender that.

If it kept her alive, and relatively sane, suffering from Multiple Personality Disorder was a small price to pay.

* * *

"_Orochimaru is planning a strike against Kohana._"

He won't be there.

"_He would be elsewhere when his home village is attacked? Heartless._"

It's your home, too. Heartless.

"**Mangekyou Sharingan**."

* * *

The pain in her fingers continued to chip away at the numbness of her head, the result from _Mangekyou Sharingan_'s recent use. While they attacked the fog from the sides, the pain in her feet attacked the bottom, effectively making her absolutely miserable.

The first day, they had broken her feet, so that she couldn't get away. They also bound her hands, so she couldn't make any seals. It wasn't because they knew she was a medical nin. It was because they knew she was a ninja.

Being a medical nin was her trump card. If Itachi hadn't broken her fingers, she could fix her feet and get away. She just had to be sneaky, fearless, strong, and very, _very_ lucky.

She was lucky now that Itachi had finally softened up enough that she was no longer bound. It was because he knew that even if her feet were fixed, her head was too woozy for her to stand up without falling down. And as she was in the storage room, anything she knocked into if she fell would make noise, and alert the guards.

Of course, she still didn't understand _why_ there were guards. She was, of course, the only captive that stayed alive for more than an hour.

* * *

**Note**: The first scene (dialogue) happened in my other Naruto fanfic, _Happy Birthday, Sasuke_.

What's really funny, that I've noticed, is that my Naruto fanfics are always more abstract and introspective than they otherwise would be. Hopefully the next chapter will be different.

Also, in case you were wondering, _Four Seasons_ was slightly inspired by another Naruto fanfic I was plotting called _Cherry Blossom: Waiting for Spring_. I was going to write that one...but I couldn't quite feel it when I started. But the roles of the four seasons are as follows:

Winter Itachi (because Spring doesn't come until Winter leaves)

Spring Sasuke (because Spring is cold before it becomes warm)

Summer Naruto (because it comes after Spring, and most people like it)

Fall Orochimaru (you figure it out)

Though technically, the chapter ends here, I was inspired to write more when the Internet crashed, rendering me without tunes. Therefore, I wrote more, in the form of a spoof. Please enjoy. And laugh. A lot. Chances are, this actually happened (in the fanfic).

* * *

"_I see you're still awake._"

I have to pee.

"_Why didn't you go earlier_?"

The guards won't let me.

"_Oh, God. Fine. Here._"

"_Are you done yet?_"

Yeah.

"_You decent?_"

Sure.

"_Thank God._"

"_You're still not going to tell me where he is, are you?_"

Are you asking?

"_Yes._"

No.

"**Mangekyou Sharingan**."


	2. Chapter 2: Spring

Disclaimer: Of course I don't own Naruto.

* * *

Despite all reasons, Sakura wasn't afraid of Itachi. He didn't want to kill her.

He would, but he didn't want to. There was no reason for him to kill her, nothing to achieve.

She'd been prisoner for five days now. She knew her time was running out. No matter how good her information was, it would be considered worthless if she didn't speak soon. Chances were, her not speaking would get Itachi in trouble.

The door opened, and the Uchiha in question stepped in. He really did have warm eyes, she thought inanely. "You're going to die today," he said, coming to stand beside her pallet.

She met his eyes levelly, accepting the news. "Okay," she said. "When?"

"Nightfall." He continued to study her. "We _will_ find him. But if you tell us where he is, we'll let you live."

She smiled, flashing teeth. Some were chipped and broken, from the fight she'd made when she was captured. By all accounts, she'd gotten off lucky. "Never make promises you can't keep, Itachi-kun."

"**Mangekyou Sharingan**."

* * *

_  
She was in Konoha, sitting on the infamous bench while cherry blossoms exploded above her head. Slowly, a bloom fell down from the tree, floated in front of her face. While she watched, the flower disintegrated, withering and disappearing completely at the sound of one person screaming. _

_While she'd watched the flower, the sky had turned from a perfect blue to the color of a raging flame. The other flowers had melted off the trees, leaving the branches empty. _

_Waiting for Spring to come again. _

_Sakura left the bench, knowing that it was what Itachi wanted. Several giant snakes made their way through the village, destroying everything in their path. The Konoha ninja tried to stop them, but for every hit they made, one of them died._

_She didn't recognize most of the ninja and citizens. Chances were, Itachi was either being very creative, or he was using people _he_ knew. For the Sound ninja, he was reusing several of the faces. _

_"Orochimaru!" Tsunade's voice. Sakura's eyes immediately sought her out, and then looked at who she was talking to. _

Sasuke

_In answer, Sasuke started for her, but was quickly intercepted by Naruto. While they fought, Tsunade was stabbed from behind, and fell down. She fell down so easily...she was killed by someone Sakura didn't even recognize. _

_**NO**. Sakura shut her eyes tightly, and ignored the screams. She _did not_ have to watch this. She _did not_ have to hear this. _

_**She didn't have to be here**. _

* * *

She 'woke up' to find herself still staring into Itachi's eyes.

Her mouth was bone dry, so Itachi gave her some water. She took a sip, passed it back to him.

"You won't tell me," he said.

Funny how well he knew her in just five days.

"No," she answered.

"You'd abandon your village?"

"Would you?"

"I have."

Sakura smiled at him. "It's still waiting for you."

Itachi seemed to freeze somewhere inside. He looked away, and left the room. Deliberately taking his time at the task, so that she couldn't say he ran away--though they both knew otherwise.

As the door closed behind him, she looked at the ceiling. "I think I struck a cord," she told the spot there conversationally.

* * *

Itachi had made a habit of using Mangekyou Sharingan on her three times a day--just before breakfast, lunch and dinner. Sometimes, he missed an appointment. Sometimes he only questioned her twice, or even just once a day. Sometimes he came in to see her at midnight, because otherwise he wouldn't question her at all that day.

Today, he missed his noon inquery. She wasn't surprised. And she didn't try to fool herself into thinking that it was because he had something else to do.

He also didn't bring her lunch.

As Kisame came in bearing a plate of something that could almost be considered edible and wearing a confused expression, Sakura smiled and thanked him graciously.

"What did you do to him?" He asked her.

"I made him Mangekyou Sharingan himself," she told him seriously. "I made him wear a dress. It was awful."

He was neither stupid nor nice. Also, there was no Itachi to keep him from killing her.

He did stop when she went into detail about the dress, though. She put enough thought into it that he actually froze in the act of reaching for his sword, and fled from the room. She had full confidence in that he would forever see his comrad in that dress whenever he saw him.

Maybe she'd apologize before Itachi killed her.

* * *

As time wore on, Sakura found herself swinging back and forth in the way of nerves. "I'm not nervous" became a near-constant mantra, because if she wasn't saying that she was thinking "I'm gonna die!"

For some reason, she didn't want to die.

"**_ITACHI_**!"

The familiarity of the voice struck her before she recognized it.

_Oh no, not Naruto_.

"**Chidori**!"

_No, not Naruto. Sasuke._

Her eyes grew wide.

_Sasuke._

It had never occured to her that Sasuke would be the one to save her.

**Save you**?

Abruptly, she remembered. Sasuke wanted Itachi. He didn't even know she was here. And even if he did, she wasn't entirely certain that he'd save her.

He'd left her a long time ago.

_What do I do_? She wondered. She pushed herself into a sitting position.

She couldn't hear any guards by her door. Chidori's racket kept her from hearing much of anything.

Until it stopped.

_What happened_?

Without thinking, she put her feet down on the floor, and then bit her lip through to keep from screaming when she tried putting weight on them. She literally heard the fragile bones in her feet break _again_. _Nothing_ was worth this much pain.

**Nothing**?

Was Sasuke worth it?

Wasn't _Naruto_?

She pushed herself back onto her feet, and prayed that Sasuke was still alive so he could do another Chidori. She didn't want anyone to hear her knock something over and investigate.

Slowly, quietly, and with infinite care, she opened the door and peeked outside. The only guard outside was dead. The wall in front of her room was completely demolished. The wall had _fallen_ on her guard. Chidori?

She knelt by the guard, pushed up against the intact part of the wall, and wondered at her options. Take his ninja gear? And use it how? She didn't even have use of her thumbs. And did she go through the wall, and risk discovery? What if one of the Akatsuki saw her? Itachi was the only one who would hesitate to kill her, and she wasn't entirely sure about that.

She took a deep breath, and peeked around the corner, into the next room--where Sasuke was.

He was fighting..._all_ of them.

_Is he **crazy**_? She thought in disbelief as Kisame swung his blade. It missed--Sasuke literally dropped to the floor an instant before it hit, causing it to miss by more than a foot.

He was incredibly lucky. Even if it was just a miss by inches, chances were it would still take chakra.

That was just a guess, though. Sakura had no intention of attacking him to find out.

_What do I do_? She wondered, feeling tears gather in the corners of her eyes. Even if she was in perfect form, she wouldn't be much help. Sasuke was always so much stronger than her.

She couldn't even stand up to _one_ Akatsuki.

* * *

**Note**: Working on the next chapter now. Hopefully, I can finish this thing today. If not today, than tomorrow, or the day after. There's only supposed to be six or so chapters. 


	3. Chapter 3: Summer, Part 1

Disclaimer: Of course I don't own Naruto.

* * *

He got stronger.

Pushing closely against the wall, she held her breath and watched. The other Akatsuki had broken away, and were watching Sasuke fight his brother.

They were evenly matched. Both had Sharingan activated--something she hadn't even heard of before. Itachi...treating his brother as an _equal_.

Almost.

She knew he could end it any time he wanted. Mangekyou Sharingan wasn't something he'd just _forgotten_ because his little brother was around.

God, her feet were killing her, but Sakura refused to sink to the ground. If she did, she doubted she'd ever get up again.

_I can hit harder_, she thought inanely, watching the two Uchiha fighting in close range. Itachi had finally turned enough that he was facing her and, knowing that there was no way he could miss her, made a face at him. Predictably, he froze, and earned a powerful punch from Sasuke as a reward. Before anyone could turn to see what had shocked him, Sakura dodged back behind the wall. Her foot caught on rubble, and she fell over, scraping her elbow on the ground. She held her breath, and began squirming further away.

She did _not_ want to die just because she snuck out to catch a fight.

Nobody followed her, though she knew without a doubt that they heard.

_What to do, what to do_.

_Sasuke's fine_, she told herself, edging away from the hole in the wall. The best thing to do now would be to secure a way of escape.

"**Katon: Gokakyu no Jutsu!**"

Preferably, _now_. Before Psycho got her killed.

The only problem with that idea, though? The side of the gap she was on was a dead end. She slid herself closer to the opening, pressed up against the wall, and peeked. Itachi wasn't looking at her. Sasuke was facing the other way. None of the other Akatsuki were even aware she was there and going to make a run for it.

It was lucky none of the other prisoners lived more than an hour. If she got away, it was going to be hell for anybody else to try. They might even reinforce security. To a whole _two_ guards.

She tucked her right foot under her, balanced on the ball of her foot, and swore she could feel it breaking in half. Then she sucked in a breath, tucked in her head, and used her foot to push herself forward, rolling to the other side of the gap. And then had to cry. Practical uses aside, her ability to combat Mangekyou Sharingan was impossible to use when she had to keep moving. It was, basically, dropping into a trance at an instant's notice.

A trance meant not to move. If she went into one, she didn't know how long it would be until she woke up. And there was a chance that she wouldn't wake up before someone killed her.

And her feet really hurt now.

One breath. Sakura pushed herself back against the wall, drew in another breath, and another. She wasn't going to fall down now. She wasn't going to black out now. Sasuke was right there.

_He saw her_.

Immediately, she scrambled away, and prayed that he didn't recognize her. She was _crying_. She didn't want that to be the first thing he saw. A bruised, battered Sakura, with broken hands and feet, and crying tears of pain. She continued to push herself further down the hallway, using her arms to drag herself along. There was someone on their way. She could hear footsteps.

**_What's he doing there? Did he have to take a potty break or something?_** She and her inner self thought in unison.

She took a deep breath, drew herself up, planted her feet under her. And waited.

_One, two_...**_now_**!

He turned the corner, and Sakura launched herself at him, elbowing him in the stomach hard enough to send him flying through the wall.

If she was lucky enough to be a goddess, Sakura imagined herself to be Master God now.

The hole lead to outside...and the noise was masked by Chidori. She was home free. All she had to do was escape, find out where she was, find a hospital, and make it to Kohona in time to warn Tsunade about the war. And _not_ get caught by Akatsuki.

Cake.

She hoped someone would tell her parents when she died. And maybe buy some flowers to put on her grave.

She creapt to the ninja she'd knocked down, and checked his pulse. Still alive, barely. "_Sorry_," she mouthed, and then put him out of commission. If he'd woken up, he might have told someone. Chances were, they were going to find out. But she didn't want it to be _easy_.

Luckily, they were going to kill her tonight. They might not look too hard.

But she didn't run away, now that she was marginally home free. She stuck low to the ground, pulled herself along, and followed the wall--but not close enough that she'd go the way of her guard. If she died tonight, it was not going to be because Sasuke dropped a wall on her.

When she neared the area Itachi and Sasuke were at, the chirping sound of Chidori doubled--literally.

As some kind of design effect on the building, there were gate-like cutouts around the top few feet of the wall. Sakura was not above taking advantage, and stood up to peek.

_Kyoten Chiten_. She recognized the technique immediately. It was a contest of strength...and Sasuke was hurt. There was no way he'd win.

_There was no way Sasuke could lose here_, she immediately denied, shaking her head sharply--and nearly losing her balance. _He's just holding back. He trained with **Orochimaru**. He **will not die here**_.

He was really losing ground here.

She tried praying.

_Please, please, please don't let Sasuke die. He still has to revive his clan. That was his dream. He can't die here_.

She deliberately forgot that apparently Sasuke didn't want that anymore, since he was Orochimaru's brand new body-to-be. Voluntarily.

_Please, please, please_.

**Sasuke**.

He was seconds away from dying, and knew it. Sakura saw his eyes look one way and the other, trying to find a way to run.

One breath. Her broken hands quickly formed the seals.

Then Itachi watched in shock as, instead of Sasuke, his Chidori came down on Sakura.

* * *

**Note**: For continuity purposes, this chapter (Summer) is being cut in half. So I guess instead of 6 chapters, there'll be 7. And if you're worried, of course Sakura is still alive. Also I looked up the replacement technique on wikipedia, and it said you had to be nearby for it to work. I generally try to write as honestly as I can.

Also, if she can defeat Mangekyou Sharingan, walking on broken feet and using broken fingers to form hand seals is possible. Just need a lot of will power.


	4. Chapter 4: Summer, Part 2

Disclaimer: Of course I don't own Naruto.

* * *

For a second, she thought she was dying. 

Looking into Itachi's eyes, suddenly so wide, she wondered why he didn't try his Mangekyou Sharingan now.

Chances were, this time he might win.

But then her eyes lost focus, as Inner Sakura whisked her away to a safe place, away from the pain.

* * *

The first thing she saw when her eyes refocused was the sky, partially hidden by tree limbs. Beside her was Sasuke, leaning against a tree trunk, breathing heavily as blood flowed out of his wounds. She touched her abdomin, felt a sticky wetness. 

God. _Bleeding_.

She was lucky she wasn't _dead_.

"You saved me?" She asked, though talking hurt. Of course, breathing hurt; it wasn't like she'd stop doing either.

"Hn." She took that for an affirmative.

"What happened?"

"He pulled away at the last second," he answered.

"Less than a second," she corrected, "if I know _him_."

Sasuke was watching her, his expression unreadable. But his eyes weren't. There was something very angry in them. But then his jaw clenched, and he doubled over in pain.

Sakura moved immediately, practically crawling in the dirt to get to him. "What's wrong?" She asked. "What hurts? Talk to me." She pushed him over, but when she couldn't see his injuries, stuck a hand in the collar of his shirt so she could _rip_ it off him and get a better look.

_God_. There were _holes_ in him. Possibility of broken ribs. _Stab_ wounds. And a _hundred_ different bruises.

"Don't worry," she said quickly, molding chakra. "I can _fix_ this. I promise."

His eyes widened when she set her hands on him, using the technique that Tsunade had taught her. _Shosen Jutsu_.

_I can _fix_ this_, she told herself. _I will _not_ let Sasuke die_.

The holes slowly--so slowly--healed up. The bones mended.

"How?" He breathed out the question.

"Tsunade. What else hurts?" She asked worriedly. "I can fix it."

She was tired. But he was still in pain. She _knew_ it. She tried to find where else he hurt, but he slapped her hands away. "Fix _yourself_," he commanded. "_Now_."

"But..." she began.

"_Now_."

She put her hand on her abdomin, tried to heal herself. It was getting harder to mold chakra. She was so tired.

"_Don't_ stop," he urged. "If you stop, you die."

Sakura smiled at him. "I don't mind." And then her eyes closed.

* * *

She didn't die. She was certain that she was going to, but she didn't die. 

But that didn't mean that Sasuke's swearing at her didn't make her wish she was dead.

Though she wasn't sure what the effect of killing her would be if she was already dead. Since Sasuke repeated the threat several times, she imagined that she would die multiple times. And wondered how many names her name would appear on that shrine Kakashi-sensei and Naruto coveted. Did being killed by a former teammate/missing-nin count as being killed in action?

"Sorry," she said. "But if you do kill me, can you tell my parents? I don't want them to worry." She watched with some interest as a vein throbbed on Sasuke's head. It was the first time she'd seen him so angry. "Are you all right?"

He looked away. "Fine."

She sat up. "If you're hurt I can fix it."

"If you're going to fix anything, fix yourself!"

She blinked at him. "But I'm tired."

He shoved her back down. "Then get some rest."

"What if you leave?"

"I'll tell you."

"Liar." Sakura closed her eyes. "You never say goodbye."

* * *

Sasuke was still there when she woke up, leaning against the tree meditating. She watched him, expecting him to disappear at any time. 

Too many times he had disappeared when she stopped dreaming.

"Better?"

She blinked. "You're still here."

"I said I would be," he opened his eyes and looked at her seriously. "What were you doing with Akatsuki?"

"Achieving my godhood," she told him earnestly. "I've discovered that I'm really, _really_ lucky."

"Sakura."

"Building up a resistance to Mangekyou Sharingan. I can turn it against Itachi and make him wear a dress. A pink one. With sparkles and embroidery. And braid his hair."

"Sakura."

_Damn. I thought he'd go for that one._

She looked away, up towards the sky. "I'm the only one who knows where Naruto is."

Sasuke tensed. "You told them?"

She gave him a disgusted look. "You'd believe that?"

"Sakura. What did you tell them." It was no longer a question.

"That he's not in Konoha. And he _won't_ be when you attack." She sent him a glare.

He showed no reaction. "Who told you that?"

"Itachi. Three days ago."

_That_ surprised him. But he did his best to hide it.

"They didn't question you for _three days_?"

"_Sasuke_." She aimed a ferocious glare his way. "Two questions. _One_. Just how stupid do you think they are? _Two_. And how weak do you think _I_ am?"

He didn't answer. Which, she thought, was answer enough.

"It's _Mangekyou Sharingan_, isn't it?" She asked. "You don't think _I_ can do something _you_ can't."

Silence. _Damn it_.

"_Fine_. I told them where Naruto was. I gave them directions, drew them a map, and packed their lunches for them. In return they broke my fingers, my feet, and tried to kill me. It _may_ or may _not_ have something to do with my cooking. I was in no position to _ask_ at the time. Also, Itachi asked me to marry him. We are going to wed next Spring under the cherry blossom tree in Konoha, adopt Kisame, and have many, many little Uchihas. Since _obviously_ you no longer intend to revive your clan. Itachi intends to rebuild the Konoha police force, and join ANBU part-time. I will continue to be a ninja until I'm pregnant, and then I will retire. My first daughter I am going to name Akina, and she will follow my steps into the ninja academy. My son, Michio, will become a doctor. And we will invite Orochimaru over for _tea_ every Sunday, where we will complain about work and gossip about neighbors."

He seemed to be waiting for her to give more details. Sakura considered punching him through a wall. Then discarded the idea, since there were none around.

"_Itachi_?" He finally said something!

"Of course," she said, deadpan. "He is _obviously_ besotted with me. And _no one_ can compare to him."

**_Yes_**. Finally, a reaction!

Though maybe not a good one.

"_You_ trained with Orochimaru, Sasuke," she said quietly, again looking away. "Who's to say that _I_ can't change after training with Tsunade?"

* * *

**Note**: Oooh, fun. Now on to Fall. 

Oh, and sorry if this seems a bit OOC. I'm just a bit of a sarcastic person, so that rubbed off on Sakura. And I've been watching a lot of Inuyasha lately, so sometimes Sasuke sounds more like Inuyasha than himself. Erg.

By the way, Akina means "Spring Flower," and Michio means "Man with Strength of Three Thousand."

Also, I know that Kisame is older than Itachi (by ten years). By saying that they will adopt him, it's kind of Sakura's way of naming a rotweiler "Fluffy." She's just being _really_ sarcastic.


	5. Chapter 5: Fall

Disclaimer: Of course I don't own Naruto.

* * *

She woke up in time to see Sasuke begin walking away.

"Are you leaving?"

He paused. "Yeah."

"I was right, you know," she said quietly. "You never do say goodbye."

"Hn."

Her smile widened. "Men are all such liars. You Uchiha in particular."

"Sakura."

She looked at him in surprise. She didn't expect him to say anything. "Yes?"

He looked over his shoulder at her. "Stay away from Itachi."

"Not to worry, Sasuke. I promise, your brother's virtue will remain intact. I'm not a complete monster."

"Sakura."

"Just _kidding_. God, you're hopeless."

He gave her a smile--that somehow didn't look right on his face, that was always so serious. "Goodbye, Sakura."

Sakura's eyes widened in shock. And after Sasuke left, she was still staring at where he'd been.

Finally, she let out her breath. "Wow."

* * *

Akatsuki didn't try to find her. Chances were, they thought she was dead.

She hoped Itachi didn't tell her parents that she was dead. That would complicate things. Though Itachi in Konoha for a reason unrelated to Naruto was welcome, provided that he didn't suddenly lose his mind and join Orochimaru.

Sakura decided she was lucky when she discovered a nearby village with a medical center. She didn't recognize it, and no one there had been to Konoha before, and thus couldn't give her directions back home.

Expect for _Hyuuga Neji_.

"You have no idea how lucky I feel right now," she told him when she met up with him. "If Tsunade had even a tiny bit of my luck, she would never lose if she gambled every day for the rest of her life." _And the world would be ruled by Orochimaru and his baby snakes_.

"What are you doing here?" He asked her.

"I ran into Akatsuki," she said. "But I faked my death and escaped."

"You faked your death and escaped?" Disbelief colored his tone.

_Why does no one believe me_? She touched her abdomin. "It almost wasn't faking. But they didn't know I was a medical ninja."

He continued to stare. It was strange to see Neji so shocked.

"In any case," she continued. "Can you give me directions home? I have no idea where I am."

Neji paused. "I'll take you," he said after a minute. And then looked away. "So stop looking at me like that."

_Aha! Puppy dog eyes work every time_.

* * *

Eventually, Neji learned never to look Sakura in the eyes. Every time he did, he enevitably found himself victim to the Puppy Dog Eyes of Doom, and wound up doing things for her that otherwise he might not have done. Case in point, picking flowers.

For this, he vowed revenge.

And found himself cooking dinner instead.

"What happened to your hands?" He asked her, finally noticing the bandages the doctor had wrapped around Sakura's fingers and hands.

Sakura flexed them. "Akatsuki didn't want me to form any seals." She lifted her feet as well. "They broke my feet too, so I couldn't run away."

He stared at her in horror.

"The hospital didn't have any medical ninjas," she told him conversationally, "so there's not much they can do for them. I'll show them to Tsunade when I see her."

"And you didn't tell me?" He demanded. "We've been traveling, on foot, all day today and yesterday, and you didn't tell me?"

And that was how she found herself beind carried by Hyuuga Neji all the way home to Konoha. Her stoic attitude toward walking for hours transformed into complaining whenever she had to walk more than two steps. And because Neji never looked her in the eye, he never knew that she could have kept running to Konoha without his help.

Also, Neji carried her to the hospital before he went to report to Tsunade. And after reporting, he sent her running toward her apprentice, to check over everything the other medical personel already had.

"Akatsuki, you say?" Tsunade asked, inspecting Sakura's feet. She poked them with one long nail, noticed the swelling. "You've been walking on them."

"Only until I met up with Neji," she said. "It was impossible to get away from Akatsuki if I had to crawl. If I only walked short distances, it was bearable."

"Why didn't you heal them?"

"I used most of my chakra healing another injury," she glanced away. "It was potentially fatal."

"I see," Tsunade studied her. "As soon as your hands heal up, I expect a report on my desk."

Sakura shook her head. "Impossible."

"What's that?"

"While I was with Akatsuki, I discovered that Orochimaru is plotting another strike on Konoha. We only have a few weeks to prepare, at most."

"Do you have any information on how many we're expecting?"

"All I know is that they're acting independantly of Akatsuki. Unless they allied themselves with any other Hidden Villages, we should only be expecting Sound Ninja." She smiled slightly. "And a few hundred giant snakes."

"In any case, we're outnumbered."

"And Naruto's gone," Sakura studied the Hokage closely.

"You know where he is."

"Yes, ma'am."

"Find the Suna liason and send her to me," Tsunade instructed. "Then go find Naruto."

"Yes, ma'am."

"I can't spare anyone to go with you."

Sakura simply looked at her. "I know."

* * *

"I think I lied, Itachi," Sakura told the sky seriously as she left the village. "It looks like Naruto may be there after all."

Luckily, chances were he thought no one knew about the attack on Konoha, and thus there was no one to tell Naruto. Therefore, Akatsuki's interference would be greatly diminished. And if they found out Naruto was there, well, the only result would be Itachi believing that she'd lied to him.

It was funny. If Itachi did find out, than everyone she'd seen in the past ten days would think she was lying.

She wasn't _that_ dishonest, was she?

"My feet hurt!"

* * *

**Note**: Okay, and next chapter's _Winter Again_, but you're going to have to wait for it to come tomorrow. 'Cause I'm really tired. Luckily this fic is short, huh? Only seven chapters.

You know, originally, I intended for Naruto to come and pick her up instead of Neji. But Neji works better. Because Puppy Dog Eyes of DOOM works better on him. Sakura doesn't even have to resort to that for Naruto. And Naruto taking her home would imply he knew she was kidnapped. Neji you can just consider coming across her by chance, Jounin that he is.


	6. Chapter 6: Winter Again

Disclaimer: Of course I don't own Naruto.

* * *

It wasn't hard to find Naruto. Sakura had a map, but it wasn't to show her how to get to the target location. It was to tell her about all the villages on the way. Specifically, the villages with a natural hot spring. _Young_ villages. Villages that were a natural target for someone like Jiraiya. Regularly, she stopped in one of the villages and asked about any festivals that had come in the past thirty days. Anything to judge how far ahead of her they were.

Before she'd left Konoha she'd made a decision between running over hiring a horse. As much as her feet hurt, they were quicker, made her a smaller target, and she didn't wear down as easily as a horse did. A horse, once trained, could run for a few days, if you gave it time to rest regularly. Otherwise, you would run them into the ground, and at that point, they would never get back up.

A person trained could run for the better part of a day.

It wasn't that difficult of a decision.

* * *

Eventually, she found them. It wasn't hard. There was a ramen shop filled with the giggling of young women. If she hadn't found Jiraiya and Naruto in here, something would be wrong.

She came into the noodle shop, and with a sigh set herself on the stool beside Naruto, waving the waiter over. "Miso, please," she requested, and then turned to Naruto, who had jumped a mile into the air as soon as he recognized her. She smiled. "Hello."

"S-Sakura! What are you doing here?"

"Ordering lunch," she accepted the bowl as it was placed before her. "Fast service here, isn't it."

"Y-Yeah."

"Actually, I'm on business from Tsunade. You're going to have to cut your training short," she took a sip, and then aimed a look his way. "Orochimaru's coming. He's preparing a strike on Konoha as we speak. I don't even know whether or not he's already there."

Naruto immediately stood up. "Then what are we waiting around here for?"

She caught his jacket before he went two feet. "I'm hungry."

"But Konoha!"

"Naruto. I've been on my feet for the past week. Longer. This is the first real meal I've had in twenty days. Besides," she turned back to her soup. "It's your job to convince Jiraiya to help."

* * *

He did it. Somehow, Naruto had miraculously convinced Jiraiya to leave his beautiful women who spent eighty-five percent of their days either nude or barely clothed, to join a war. She didn't how how he did it, but it was done. And she imagined that if she knew how he did it, she'd have nightmares for the rest of her life. There were some things this kunoichi just did _not_ want to know.

Imitating Sasuke, she slanted the pair a sarcastic smile with a cocked brow. "Are you ready to leave yet?"

Naruto averted his eyes. "_Now_ she's ready to go."

Sakura smiled, and turned to Jiraiya. "So how are we..."

He was already casting the summons. "**Kuchiyose no Jutsu**."

Sakura jumped a mile into the air at the sudden appearance of the giant frog, Gamabunta, who appeared with the customary "Eh?"

She covered her face in her hands. "I hate frogs," she mumbled quietly. And her feet _really_ hurt.

She didn't pay much attention to Jiraiya and Naruto explaining the situation. That they could was good enough. It wasn't as though she needed any tips on how to convince giant frogs to lend aid--she summoned _slugs_, thank you. And Katsuyu was, for the most part, far more agreeable.

She was lucky that they didn't try to ask where she got her information. Though Sakura knew, somehow, that Naruto would be far more likely to believe her than anyone else, she didn't want to risk it. If _Naruto_ doubted her, she knew that she would lose faith in everyone else.

"Don't let me fall," she instructed Naruto when the boarded Gamabunta.

"What are you..."

Sakura closed her eyes.

Maybe her ability to combat Mangakyou Sharingan had some practical uses after all.

* * *

She woke up instantly, less than a minute later, completely refreshed. They were already in Konoha.

"I'm impressed," she told Gamabunta conversationally as she slid off his neck. She smiled a little at how haggard Naruto looked. Apparently, he'd had some trouble doing what she asked.

She'd apologize later.

Maybe when there weren't giant snakes attacking the village.

"We need to find Tsunade," she told them, and watched as Naruto immediately ran toward danger. _He_... Sakura massaged her temples. "Why do I even bother?"

"Leave this to me," Jiraiya said. "Find Tsunade."

Sakura nodded. "Yes, sir."

The problem with that, she though as she ran away, was that she had no idea where to look. _The hospital might be the best bet_.

"**Mushi Kabe no Jutsu.**"

"**Gatsuga.**"

_Shino. Kiba_. She cupped her hands around her mouth. "Shino! Kiba! Where's the Hokage?"

Kiba looked at her. "We haven't seen her. Do you know where Hinata is?"

_Hinata's missing_? "I just got back. I'll help you look for her!"

"_No_," Shino denied. "Find the Hokage. We'll hold these guys off."

Sakura nodded. "All right."

It seemed that Itachi really hadn't known that many Sound ninja. _None_ of the faces she'd seen in his illusion were actually participating in the attack on Konoha. _Still_, he might have gotten lucky..._Where was Tsunade in the illusion_?

She gasped when she saw a kunai flying toward her, only to be deflected by another. "Sakura!"

"Ino."

"Pay attention, Forehead Girl. We can't always protect you, you know." Ino flipped her hair over her shoulder, giving her rival a cocky smirk.

They were right. She knew it. Her entire life, she'd been protected. Whenever she tried to protect someone, something always went wrong. But...she was a different person now, wasn't she? She was Tsunade's apprentice, and they said that Sakura's chakra control even exceeded hers. She was the one who'd spent five days with Akatsuki without dying. She'd gone through daily questioning and interrogation. Was she still the type of person who needed to be defended? Even now?

_I should have gotten something for my feet before we left. This throbbing's killing me_.

"That's okay, Ino-pig," she said, planting her feet. "I'll always protect you. **Tsutenkyaku**!" Someone had been prepared to strike Ino from behind, and received a well-placed kick in response, powerful enough to leave a crater.

Ino looked at the attacker, then Sakura, then the attacker again before sighing. "You and that monstrous strength."

* * *

Ino had reminded her of something, though she knew that her rival had no intention of doing so. Ino reminded her of flowers. And that reminded her where Tsunade was in the illusion. All she had to do was follow the cherry blossom trees.

She prayed that Itachi had gotten lucky. Because if he had, that meant that she'd hit the jackpot.

* * *

**Note**: This would have been up yesterday, but I hate writing fighting scenes. And I lost the link to the fighting scene workshop that I always go to when I have to write one.

You know what really sucks, though? I meant for this fic to be SasuSaku, but the more I write it, the more ItaSaku it turns out. It's in it more, _mentioned_ more, and made a bigger impact on the plotline. I'm a bit worried that this is going to be eight chapters long instead of just seven.


	7. Chapter 7: Another Spring

Disclaimer: Of course I don't own Naruto.

* * *

She found her.

Standing tall and beautiful in the fray, Tsunade was making an empact, both physically and visually. Already, the Sound nin had learned to attack from a distance. But even that wasn't safe, with Shizune beside her, firing at them with her stylized slingshot.

"Tsunade!" Sakura ran toward her. She palmed a kunai, gauged the distance. Threw, and hit one of the opposing ninja in the spine with enough force to leave him unable to move.

"Where's Naruto?" Tsunade asked, catching a kunai before it could hit her. Generously, she returned it.

For some reason, the Sound ninja didn't seem to want it anymore.

"Out there," Sakura answered, throwing another kunai. It was deflected by another, inadvertantly tearing the bag tied to it. Far from put off, she threw several more, littering the ground with explosive tags. Finally, she smiled, drew one last kunai. Threw it. "**Sakura Fubuki no Jutsu**."

No more Sound ninja.

Shizune threw a kunai at her.

Sakura dropped to the floor.

As did the person behind her. Only he was dead. For _some_ reason.

"You tried to kill me!"

"_No_," Shizune denied. "I tried to kill him."

Sakura looked at the Sound nin. "Looks like you did a good job."

"Shikamaru's group is guarding the hospital," Tsunade interrupted. "I want you to provide assistance."

"You didn't evacuate them?"

"Some of the patients can't be moved."

Sakura nodded. "I'm on my way."

"Sakura," Tsunade called before she'd taken one step. She turned. "Be careful."

Sakura smiled. "Don't worry. I won't die."

* * *

Several blocks were devoid of any Sound ninja. She studied the empty area carefully, looking for traps. Instead, further down the street, she saw Team Gai. Rock Lee and Neji fighting on the ground while Tenten attacked from a rooftop.

That, she thought, explained everything.

As she moved further into the village, Sakura started to notice something. The Konoha ninja had formed ranks. Where the majority of the enemy was--including the giant snakes--there were ANBU. In the blocks around them, the Jounin also fought. Around that were the Chuunin, and still further back lay the Genin. It seemed that it was the Chuunin and Genin's job to guard certain areas, though some Chuunin specialized for combat joined in the outer branches of the Jounin.

Where Naruto was right now was anyone's guess.

She watched a painted tiger attack one of the Sound nin, and wondered where Sai might be hiding as well.

But then she remembered that she had a job to do, and this wasn't a game of _Spot the Ninja_. Besides, Sai was good at hiding, and would attack anyone--friend or foe--who found him when he didn't want to be. _That_ she knew first-hand.

The hospital looked like it had been attacked by a giant spider who got lazy half-way into building its web, and recognized the handywork as Shikamaru's. Chances were, this was as far as he'd gotten in the preparations for war. Equally probable was that this were merely the icing on the cake and there were various other traps to keep any enemy ninja out.

Then she remembered what Tsunade had said. Shikamaru's _group_. Which meant that anybody who came close to the web was going to be a _ninja pincushion_.

This was a _hospital_. Who could they possibly need to protect _that_ badly?

"Shikamaru takes his job so seriously sometimes." Wasn't this the same guy who thought that _everything_ was troublesome?

Following that logic, chances were, he wasn't even here. Sakura made to turn around, then found out that she couldn't.

"You're right," he said boredly from behind her, "I do."

_Kagemane no Jutsu_. Damn it.

"Since you're using your signature technique, can I assume that you're not just using _Henge no Jutsu_?" The question had just a bit of bite to it.

"You can."

_So generous_.

"Since you're here, can I assume that the Hokage sent you?"

"Do you have any reason to think otherwise?"

"No," she heard a slight smile in his voice. "I knew you were Sakura from the start."

"Then why the jutsu?" Her voice rose several ocatives.

"To make sure," he suddenly released her from the jutsu, and she turned to see him standing practically on top of her. How could he get that close without her knowing? He turned and walked away, so lazily he may as well have been sleepwalking. "That perfume of yours is a dead giveaway."

"Maybe you _are_ an imposter," she said at his back in annoyance, following him despite herself. She did, after all, have orders. "The Shikamaru I know wouldn't do something as troublesome as this."

"Since jumping up and down waving my arms didn't have any effect, I thought I'd try something more direct."

"_Please._ The day Nara Shikamaru jumps up and down is the day your friend Chouji runs a marathon and wins a ribbon."

Shikamaru looked at her over his shoulder, his hand on the handle of the door he'd led her to. "Funny you should mention that." The door opened, and Sakura gasped when she looked inside.

She found Hinata.

Leaning back against Chouji, looking paler than natural, her face drawn. Bleeding from more injuries Sakura could begin to count. She looked like she'd gotten into a fight with a dull, rusted shredder and only barely managed to get away.

"How...?"

"Kabuto. He was looking for something in the hospital. Hinata was defending the patients. We barely got there in time." Shikamaru sat down next to her. "Ino went out there to find you. Apparently, she didn't."

"I saw her," Sakura said. "But she didn't have time to tell me anything. What was Hinata doing in the hospital? Isn't her team out there?"

"Here father sent her. He thought it would be safe--and all arguments aside, she still is his firstborn." He looked at her. "Can you save her?"

Could she? Sakura nodded. "I'll try."

It wasn't because Hinata was her friend. In truth, they barely knew each other. It certainly wasn't because she was Hyuuga, one of their greatest houses. She didn't have anything to do with them, and they'd have nothing to do with her, a nobody. It wasn't because she wanted to see how good she was. These wounds would be tricky to heal even for Tsunade. It wasn't because it was Kabuto who'd done this. Though that information didn't hurt. It wasn't because of any form of kinship they might have, both being Konoha ninja.

She'd heal Hinata because they asked her to. And because Kiba and Shino were still looking for her.

And Hinata _would not die_.

* * *

Apparently, healing people made her feet hurt. This wasn't much of a surprise, since Sakura's feet had been throbbing since she left Alatsuki. Sending chakra flowing through her hands also made her fingers burn.

Inner Sakura was fluttering around in the back of her head, a reminder that she was still there to take over if the pain became unbearable, but she ignored the offer.

"I can't completely heal her," Sakura told Team Asuka quietly, Ino having reappeared only a short time ago. "Getting her out of danger is the best that I can do. It's our job to keep her there." Both boys looked at her as if this was something obvious, that they would do even if she hadn't told them to. Sakura found herself half amused by the look, and wondered at the "troublesome" rescue of the injured Hyuuga.

"The Hokage wants you outside again," Ino told her. She was the only one who hadn't become visibly relieved by Hinata's easier breathing. She was, certainly, but there was also irritation creasing her brow.

Her reason for the instruction stole Sakura's breath.

"Sasuke's out there."

* * *

**Note**: I realize that Shizune's weapon (that she uses in the anime, in any case, not sure about manga) isn't technically a slingshot. But that's the only way I could describe it. Oh, and in case anyone was wondering, I'm using a combination of anime _and_ manga attacks. Mainly because some of the attacks in the anime are cool.

Omigod, and we have a slight ShikaSaku scene. Does this fic _get_ any weirder?

Another thing, if you're interested, please go to my author's profile and check out my DevArt gallery. There is a picture for this fanfic there. Though unfortunately, it doesn't have Sakura in it--it's the scene with Shikamaru, Chouji, Hinata and Ino. Appropriately titled _Painful_. Can't miss it.

By the way, so sorry this took so long. Life is busy. Next chapter's the last one. Hopefully. Though you can probably expect a few spin-off one-shots, extensions of scenes in this story. I want to write more Itachi, and the Shikamaru and Chouji saving Hinata scene.


	8. Chapter 8: Endless Summer, Part 1

Disclaimer: Of course I don't own Naruto.

* * *

She closed her eyes. Of _course_ Sasuke was here. Why wouldn't he be? She rose from her crouch, barely paid attention to her feet protesting. "Have you seen Naruto?" She asked, but didn't put much hope in it.

"He's with the Hokage."

_Damn_.

She nodded. "I'll get going then."

"I'll go with you," Ino said immediately. "I'm needed out there. _They_ can take care of Hyuuga."

Sakura glanced at Shikamaru, who nodded, and smiled. "All right. Try not to slow me down."

"With _those_ feet? I'll leave you in the dust."

* * *

As always, Ino was the first to underestimate her. Sakura kept pace easily. Sasuke's name was a mantra in her head, tearing her apart.

Would the Sasuke outside be _her_ Sasuke? Or Orochimaru with a new face? It had been, after all, three years. Sasuke had seen Itachi. And he'd left her, because he had somewhere to go. Something that had to be done.

And ten to one, that wasn't impregnating some likely girl who _wouldn't_ die in this particular war.

Was it giving up his _body_? Itachi was still alive.

"Pay _attention_, Forehead Girl!" Ino's voice cut in. "You're going to get yourself killed."

_Damn_. Ino was right, she had to _focus_. Worrying wasn't going to help anyone. All she could do what deal with the problem in front of her. And conserve as much chakra as she could until she got there.

"Sakura!"

She glanced around, and in return was able to see a kunai before it hit her in the face. Irritation snapped, and she caught it, and returned it with enough speed and force to send it straight through the Sound ninja's neck, where it caught on a wall behind him. Then she looked at the one who warned her, and sighed in relief. Yamato. The only one who would have been a more welcome sight would be Kakashi. Or Orochimaru's head on a pike. But Yamato was nice.

"Yamato!" She called back, skidding just enough to make a very sharp turn. She pulled to a stop beside him--and Ino, having nothing better to do, apparently, followed suit. "Where's Sasuke?" She didn't pay as much attention to her own safety as she should have--Yamato was hardly one to let her get killed. She really was secure in the "love" of her friends. Maybe that was why she rarely had to be strong.

As expected, Yamato deflected an attack on her while Ino finished the ninja off. Then, content with a certain lack of Sound nin--thanks, in part, to another appearance from Kiba and Shino, who had gradually worked their way over in search of their missing teammate--he pointed her in the right direction. _Typical_, she thought. The middle of this mayhem. And Tsunade wanted her to go _there_?

**Not like we have anything better to do**.

But as Sakura started in that direction, Yamato stopped her with a hand. "Sakura. _Uchiha Itachi_ is over there."

Que complete and utter heart attack. She turned to stare at the ANBU in horror. "He's not supposed to be here. I _told_ him Naruto wasn't going to be here."

He blinked.

She shook her head, not even looking at him. Chances were, he wasn't going to believe her anyway. "All right. I'll deal with him if I see him. But I need to get to Sasuke." She slanted a glance in Ino's direction. "Ino-pig! I'm going on ahead. Stick with Yamato." And before her rival/friend could come up with a response, she'd already taken off. She didn't have time for Ino to come up with an answer, she reasoned to herself. Especially since she was on the losing side of a grappling match until Yamato ended it by thrusting one of his kunais under the Sound nin's armpit.

Maybe she'd hear her friend's response after the war. If they both survived, she imagined she'd hear a _lot_ about it.

But right now she had something more important to think about. Not just why Itachi was here. But also, how was she supposed to get by him to get to Sasuke?

* * *

Finding Itachi was more difficult than finding Sai on one of his "off" days, when it didn't take you more than three or four _hours_ to find him. Since she was on orders, and didn't have the time to find him--though she did run into Kakashi, and waved at him on her way by--she dismissed him from her mind, and hoped that Yamato had either been imagining things, or someone had given him false information. Or maybe he'd been joking. She thought he had a wicked sense of humor sometimes.

Running through a battlefield, she decided, that got thicker the closer she was to where she was going, was something she would have preferred to do with a pack. She was willing to accept six or seven of Naruto's Kage Bunshins, and if one Naruto was hard to handle, that many amounted to a migraine. As it was, she only had about enough chakra for that many Kage Bunshins, if she really pushed it. Then, of course, she'd end up keeling over, and wouldn't even make it to Sasuke. So she was perfectly prepared to just keep on scrapping until she got there.

She had all the time in the world--provided it was under thirty seconds.

She smiled to herself. No sweat.

* * *

If she thought about what she had to do, her feet hurt less. If she didn't think at all, they didn't even seem to hurt. If she didn't pay attention, projectile weapons and other assorted jutsu reminded her why it was important she did. The closer to Sasuke she got, the fewer allies she had. She hadn't seen anyone since Kakashi. But eventually, her diligence paid off. Even if the right side of her face hurt, thanks to a fire jutsu she was too busy trying to dodge to recognize. _Eventually_, she saw Sasuke.

Cutting through Leaf Jounin like they were nothing.

Worse than nothing.

_Gone_.

What was it, she wondered now, that Tsunade had expected her to _do_?

"_Orochimaru_!"

Oh. Tsunade's voice. But it was further away, and Sasuke didn't even glance up. Not that he _would_ have, if he was really Orochimaru, but it was possible. Or was it? Was it really possible that the one who was killing them wasn't _Orochimaru_ in Sasuke's body, but really _Sasuke_?

Did it really _matter_ one way or another?

Her hand went into the pouch at her side, reaching for a kunai. She only had a couple left. Should have sweet-talked Yamato out of his. He had, after all, other weapons at his disposal. His bloodline limit was _useful_. She sucked in her breath, strengthened her resolve, and threw one of her kunais, the only one that still carried a sack of explosive tags. Before it hit him--quite a _while_ before, actually--he disappeared. Not _Kawarimi no Jutsu_, but his own speed. He could probably keep up with Lee in a _footrace_ now.

He reappeared less than a second later--almost right on top of her, if she hadn't jumped back immediately after he disappeared. And knew, airborn, that if he chose, she wouldn't touch the ground again.

He chose.

**Shishi Rendan**.

Not enough strength in her kick, she thought critically. She couldn't outmove him.

The sound of her ribs breaking echoed in her ears, and with the ending of his little combo, he left her for dead--or, if not dead, inoperable. He really didn't think much of her, did he? She smiled sarcastically, and, content in his stupidity, picked the last kunai out of her bag. It had an explosive tag attached. And--she looked--he wasn't even looking that way. She rolled silently to her feet, and didn't bite her mouth through to keep quiet because that would have hurt more. He still wasn't looking. _So_.

She threw the kunai toward the scattered tags, knowing that Sasuke thought they were intended for him. He always was _so sure_ he was the center of the universe.

The kunai hit, ignited. "**Sakura Fubuki no Jutsu**." And as Sasuke turned, his black eyes wide in shock, a hole was blown in the giant snake, spliting it in half.

It _screamed_. Were snakes supposed to scream? She wondered. It also flailed on the ground for a while before finally keeling over.

A very cold smile was on her face when she looked at Sasuke. A look that said, "Y_eah, I did it; what are you going to do about it_?" A look she _knew_ he never saw on her face before. "Who knew," she said sarcastically, "those summons of your really _aren't_ giant worms. Sai's _never_ going to buy this."

He looked _thrilled_ to hear it. "Still alive?"

She slanted a grin at him. "You should know by now, Sasuke-kun, that Team Kakashi _never gives up_. That's our_ way of the ninja_."

_Never give _up_. Never back _down_. If Naruto could just see me _now.

The main difference between Sasuke and his big brother? Itachi was impressed by backbone. He was impressed when you could stand up to his _Mangekyou Sharingan_. Sasuke...wasn't. Because that meant that he'd have to respect _Naruto_, and that just wasn't his thing. And in this case, he'd have to respect _Sakura_, which would _really_ rub his ego raw.

"You're so _childish_," she said, finally delivering her first blow. A punch that had enough power to break a few of his ribs, and if it wasn't laced with chakra, would have shattered even more of _her_ bones. It was also laced with enough power to send him flying, because she knew that if she tried to follow it up with a barrage of punches, he'd ignore the pain to kick her in the solarplexus.

She wasn't an idiot. She tended to guard against things that would make her stop breathing.

Like that _boulder_ flying at the back of her head. She kicked it back with just enough power to send it flying--instead of break it in half. As it was, there was a dent. She was tired.

"I'm childish?" Sasuke asked, and blocked a punch when she swung at him.

"_Yes_," she insisted, "I only stalked you. You're still trying to get revenge. It's been _seven_ years. Get over it, already! Or _do it_, and _come home_. Even _Itachi_ came home, and _he_ thought he had nothing to _return_ to!"

He caught her wrists with enough force to break them. "Are you even sure I'm Sasuke?"

"_Yes_." She smiled at him charmingly. "Orochimaru has a longer tongue. _And_..." here she stomped on his foot, "_he_ would have finished me off by now. You're still _soft_!"And before he could react, he took an elbow to the collarbone. Which was as high as she could reach and do damage, because he was _tall_ now.

And having delivered the final verbal blow, Sakura knew full well that he was going to kill her. So the smile that she gave him was the smile of an angel.

* * *

**Note**: This chapter was a pain in the butt. Really. And that last sentence means I have to cut the chapter in half, because there's no way I can cut another scene and tack on in "just a second."

The question, of course, that is going through everyone's minds is: _Where's the SasuSaku_? I don't know. Next chapter, maybe?

The other question is: _Where's Naruto_? But, of course, you'll probably see him around. Maybe. I don't know. I thought you might even see Sai this chapter, but mentioning him was fun enough.

Isn't it funny how Sakura's fighting with Sasuke? He just wanted to "teach her a lesson" for trying to blow him up, but she kept getting up, and then she insulted him, attacked him, and now she's mocking him. _Oh_, what a relationship is that.

And so you know, I think I'm going to have a sequel to this fanfic. Maybe I'll call it "A New Year," you think? Dunno if it'll be a collection of shorts, or if it'll actually have a _plot_, or what. But we'll see, yeah? Look forward to it.

Hopefully, there'll only be one chapter left. Pray, guys. It's an _Endless Summer_.


	9. Chapter 9: Endless Summer, Part 2

Disclaimer: Of course I don't own Naruto.

* * *

Sakura looked up at Sasuke with the patience of a saint, even though her ribs were screaming, her face was bleeding, her hands were numb, and any second now her feet were going to get up and leave her in revolt. She smiled, despite everything, and asked him with infinite sweetness, "Does this mean you don't want to be my boyfriend?" And knocked him on his ass.

Or, would have, if he wasn't too old and crotchety to overreact to stupid questions. Maybe if she was a _boy_...

Wait. He'd been with Orochimaru. The guy with the _tongue_ who talked like a girl.

So, he didn't take jokes about Itachi, and he didn't take stupid questions. It figured she was without ammunition.

So she nearly jumped out of her skin when he decided to play along and knelt beside her. "I thought you were going to marry my brother." For one second--just _one_--he sounded like the old Sasuke again. "Didn't you say _no one_ could compare?"

Cue angelic smile. "I'm sure he'd be willing to share. But then again, maybe he wouldn't. You are, after all, the one who betrayed him. But that's a habit of yours now, isn't it? Betray your friends. Even the one who saved your life _two weeks_ ago." She pouted. "I can't even _move_."

"Then I'll be merciful," he said, and placed her hands over her abdomin. "And let you heal yourself before you die of internal bleeding."

Internal bleeding _was_ a risk, she had to admit, though she watched him irritably as he walked away, _unconcerned_ for his childhood friend whom he almost _killed_.

He paused, a few feet away. "But we're quit of anything after this. You come after me again...and I will kill you."

"Sasuke-kun," she said in wry amusement, letting her eyes close. "Never make promises you can't keep."

She didn't open her eyes again for a very long time. Inner Sakura had already spirited her away.

* * *

_She was within her head. She recognized it here now, though she rarely saw it in natural form. Having spent so long with Itachi, she wasn't sure there was a _natural_ form. But apparently there was. Inner Sakura was there with her, which was odd, until she remembered that without Itachi, there was no place else Inner Sakura needed to be. _

_**We're going to die, aren't we?** Inner Sakura asked, because that was how Sakura had made her talk. Because they were two, and therefore there was no "I."_

_"It looks like it," she said. She leaned back against her chair--they were both sitting on one, facing each other, because that was how Sakura was most comfortable. Looking at Inner Sakura, knowing she was there, was how she knew she was not alone. _

_**Are we afraid?**_

_Sakura grinned, and faced the ceiling--or the sky, because there was no ceiling in her head. It was a lot of mist. A place that was meant to _hide_ her, where Itachi couldn't see. "Itachi lied," she said, "because he said we'd die earlier. And we didn't. So I think this is something of a compromise."_

_**Do we want to compromise?**_

_"Not really. 'Cause dying sucks."_

_Inner Sakura smiled at her now. **So why are you here?**_

And just like that, she'd kicked her out.

* * *

_My hands hurt_, was her first thought. She was looking up into a pair of black eyes, and thought, for less than a fraction of a second, that it was Sasuke. And then realized it was delirium talking, because that was definitely _Sai_. Who was the last person she would have expected, since Sai wasn't the type of person to rescue her. The only person he'd ever even _tried_ to rescue before was Naruto--_Naruto_, who always made friends to easily. _Her_ only friend was a _mass murderer_ and missing-nin whose favorite hobby was torturing her, just to see how much she could take.

And Ino. But she didn't count.

Still, this wasn't an alternate universe. He wasn't standing over her looking worried. He looked, as always, bored.

"Wow, I didn't know you cared."

Sarcasm, as always, was the best defense.

Sai glanced at her. "You were dying."

"_Almost_ dying," she corrected. "It's kind of a hobby these days." And, looking down at her arm, the one whose wrist Sasuke broke, she willed it over her abdomin. And then, very methodically, began to mold chakra. And wished that she had enough chakra to manage _Sozo Saisei_. She didn't know _anyone_ who had that much chakra--except for Naruto. Tsunade, of course, needed a seal. And Sakura wasn't really _into_ that fashion statement right now.

When she decided that she was no longer in danger of internal bleeding, she sat up, and with the utmost sweetness said, "Set this, please." And set her broken wrist _right_ on his scroll.

_Oh_, she was going to die for that. But, kindly, Sai did. She didn't flinch, though he expected her to. Her world was full of pain right now. _This_ barely registered. "Thank you," she said sweetly, when he swung her arm back at her. She began bending her arms, to see if all the joints worked right. Her fingers, she noticed, were swollen as ever. They had been set in the village she found Neji in two weeks ago, and still had to rest.

_Now_, she imagined, she'd look like a walking zombie if she even _survived_ this war. And that was a very narrow chance. She didn't do more than half-way fix her ribcage. One more hit, and she'd face internal bleeding again, and be less likely to survive. But she had to conserve her chakra. She was, after all, a medical nin. But first, she had a job to do.

"Where's Sasuke?" And then paused. "And Itachi."

* * *

This time, she stopped to get supplies. There were many, many dead Sound ninjas around. Also, Leaf nin. But she had a moral rule not to take anything that belonged to someone she liked. Unless it was explosive tags, which she was _all over_. _Sakura Fubuki no Jutsu_ was a preferred attack in open warfare. It was also fun.

There were also chakra strings, which weren't generally in her possession, but could be useful. She was already thinking up a plan that would make _Shikamaru_ nervous. And Sasuke, as much as she loved him, was nowhere near Shikamaru's intelligence.

When she started to think she might need a bag to carry all of her things, she detached a sound nin's leg pouch, and reattached it to her off-leg. Finally, having everything she deemed necessary, she pulled her headband down, and tied the symbol of Konoha ninja around her forehead. This time, she was _serious_.

* * *

The first thing he saw that let him know something was wrong was a scattering of explosive tags falling from the sky. Carried on the wind, they came down slowly, gently. And the message was received: _death from above_. There was a lot of them--over a hundred, and they kept coming. Sakura had prepared well. And what was better was that he wouldn't be able to see her, recognize her, because she was taking too much care to stay hidden. She was also wearing one of the masks a Sound nin happened to be wearing--and she knew it was Sound nin, and not ANBU, because he tried to kill her. And if she was wrong, well, he was certainly a traitor, because she was the Hokage's pupil.

And let them choke on _that_.

And because she knew he would either a, run away, or b, find out who was throwing them, she pulled a chakra string, and suddenly several kunais flew to connect that building and the one across the street. Those kunais cut another string, which sent another dozen kunais flying to the other side. And on, and on, it continued, all the way down to the ground. The strings had more explosive tags attached to them, every three feet.

And here, she ran toward the ledge and jumped, and a chakra string was wrapped around both wrists, so she flipped forward, and landed on the accompanying building gracefully. And she smiled down at Sasuke, who had been climbing that building, from behind the safety of her mask. She wiggled her fingers at him--a quick, insulting hello. And threw a kunai, that hit an explosive tag, and when it exploded the explosion was magnified by the tags still in the air.

Shikamaru really _did_ have the best ideas in the world. Maybe she was in love.

And to prove that she really was evil, she removed a kunai from her pouch, one with an explosive tag attached, and dropped it right over Sasuke. Typically, he moved, because there was no force behind it besides gravity, which _just wasn't fast enough_. Also, he didn't want to die easily. But here, she grabbed another chakra string, and pulled, and was propelled along again to the neighboring building. And then, she held two fingers and her thumb out--the victory sign. "**Sakura Fubuki no Jutsu.**"

_That_ tag had just been paper. But the string it cut as it went down sent three more kunai with tags that _weren't_ in different directions--everywhere Sasuke could have gone. Predictably, there was an explosion. Then another. And another. And several more at once.

And she almost squealed, and wished Shikamaru could see, and knew--just _knew_--Sasuke had misjudged her. Any second now and he would--

_Be standing right beside her with murder in his eyes_. Right. She knew that.

Sticking one hand in the pocket of the jacket she'd liberated from the same Sound nin who'd donated the mask, she looked at her former teammate innocently. "So what did you think?" She asked, and knew there was more excitement in her voice than there should be. "Impressive?"

"You're crazy," was his only allowment. And his eyes narrowed at her, because then he recognized her voice. Her perfume might be a dead giveaway to Shikamaru, but the smell of smoke, courtesy of the exploding tags, easily masked it. "Sakura." He stepped toward her. "I told you not to get in my way again."

"I _like_ this mask," she said distractedly, "maybe I should be an ANBU. Do you think it suits me?"

This time, _he _was sarcastic. "If you survive, you can be _Hokage_."

"I'll settle for a proposal," she said, and reached for another chakra string, and used Sasuke's ribs to kick herself off. It pulled her back to the first building. And she didn't have to go any further because, before Sasuke could attempt to follow, there was a very loud "_Ahem_!"

_Naruto to the rescue_.

Sakura glanced over her shoulder at Kakashi and smiled. "So, it's safe to assume that Sai found you two then?"

* * *

She sat on the ledge of the building, kicking her feet while she wound up her unused chakra thread. Sai knowing where Itachi had been was a pure stroke of luck. Sai being able to find Kakashi and Naruto was _also_ a stroke of luck. Itachi not seeing her while she planted a trap for Sasuke was luck. Sasuke now coming until the trap was finished was luck. Also, this entire block of town was empty--more luck.

She was, she thought, the patron Goddess of supremely lucky ninjas. The only thing that hadn't been delivered to her doorstep was Sasuke--but since he was here with Orochimaru trying to destroy Konoha, she didn't imagine him being on her doorstep would be a good thing.

When she finished, she began planning an escape path for herself--not because she didn't have faith in Naruto, of course, but she knew that they wouldn't be restricted to one rooftop for long. Giving them plenty of room was priority.

She winced at a particularly nasty attack from Naruto that managed to knock Sasuke to the ground. Apparently, he'd been working on his Taijutsu lately. "I'm glad that they're friends," she told Kakashi conversationally from behind her mask. "Otherwise they might _really_ try to kill each other." She still hadn't removed her mask, despite her sensei's urging. She knew without being told that she now looked as ugly as Sai always said she was under this mask. Hopefully, it wouldn't be permanent.

And then, tying a chakra string to the end of a kunai, she threw it at the other building, and secured the other side of the string to the ledge before jumping off.

She caught the string before she fell down to far, just to slow herself down, and then dropped the last fifteen feet, landing in an easy roll. Anything, she thought, to save chakra.

And on the bright side--her pouches were far less heavy now. She could probably have everything in just _one_ now.

The only problem Sakura had now was that she ran out of things to do. So, to make herself feel better, she picked up a few of the explosive tags she'd sent airborne, having since fallen to the ground, and began repacking her extra pouch. And tried to decide between finding a _safe_ place, or reinforcing Tsunade.

Locating Tsunade was first priority, obviously, though for an instant Sakura felt like crying and complaining that her _feet_ hurt, and her _face_ was blistering, and her _hands_ didn't want to work, and _Sasuke tried to kill her_. And almost succeeded, if only Orochimaru hadn't been such a bad surgeon, since obviously Sasuke's heart transplant had fallen through.

Her spare pouch filled, Sakura straightened, and meticulously adjusted her borrowed coat, replaced the hood over her hair. And stared at her hand, which was covered in blood. The wire had broken skin. Funny, she didn't think she'd fallen that far. "Keep an eye on Naruto," she told Kakashi over her shoulder, knowing he was right there. He was _always_ right there, because, like everyone else, he assumed that Sakura was the one who always needed help. "If he dies, I won't forgive you."

"And if you die?"

"Then the Uchiha has one less person to kill." As she said it, she didn't know if she was talking about Itachi or Sasuke. But Kakashi was going to think it was Sasuke, so that was all that mattered.

* * *

**Note**: I absolutely despise this chapter, for various reasons. At least the Sakura vs Sasuke scene. It was funny when I wrote it, but now it just makes me groan.

You can probably guess what move is my favorite in Naruto. _Sakura Fubuki no Jutsu_ (translation: Cherry Blossom Blizzard Technique). I know, she only used it in the movie. But it was _completely awesome_. And, you know, useful. And since I know a lot of Sakura haters, it kind of makes her suck less. Not that they even _know_ I write fanfiction, of course, much less fanfiction about her. I'm already practically disowned for liking _Sasuke_.

Okay. So...another chapter, then? Ack, when will this thing stop already?


	10. Chapter 10: Endless Summer, Part 3

Disclaimer: Of course I don't own Naruto.

* * *

It was actually very easy to find Tsunade. It was more along the lines of following the thump-thump of her chakra-enhanced punches over the screams surrounding the village. She ran as quickly as she could, unable to favor her feet even--or maybe especially--in these circumstances.

Luckily, they were a lot closer than she'd thought. Only on the other side of the village, rather than completely outside of it. But you tend to take whatever you could get.

Three giant creatures fought each other furiously, right beside the Hokage monument. She winced. They had absolutely no decency. Did they have any idea how long it had taken to finally get Tsunade's face on that mountain? How much effort the workers--and her, oddly, who had somehow been conscripted in the whole mess--had put into it to make it look almost like her? (The caricature had less sign of beer stains and looked almost intimidating all the time, rather than merely when someone made her mad.)

Sakura breathed heavily through her mouth, grateful for the mask that filtered out most of the smoke. The closer she got, the more it became clear that none of the legendary sannin were standing on their summons, but rather fighting around them. Katsuya, bless him, was attempting to protect the Hokage's monument while providing support to Gamabunta as he fought Manda, spitting oil that, yes, would take forever to clean up. Not that they wouldn't all be at it for days, anyway, once this was all over.

Well. There was something to look forward to.

It took all of three seconds for her to shake herself out of sincerely wishing that she didn't survive this war, if that was what she had to look forward to. This was aided by a kunai thrown at her shoulder, aimed precisely for the artery there. She pulled her hand up at the last second, the glint of light just managing to alert her through the blurry haze of pain, catching the knife by the hilt.

She very nearly turned to retaliate, but was interrupted by the war cry of Rock Lee, who was, of course, coming to the rescue. Seemingly without much effort, he dispatched the attacker, and gave her a quick glance before returning his attention to their surroundings.

"Are you all right, Sakura-san?" He asked.

She nodded. "Thanks, Lee," she said. And frowned. "How did you know it was me?"

He laughed out loud and flashed her a thumbs up. "I would recognize you anywhere!"

How sweet. It was nice to have someone around who actually knew her that well. Sasuke recognized her voice, and Shikamaru, who might simply be suspicious otherwise, knew her scent (of course, so did Kiba).

Naruto, of course, wouldn't recognize her unless she beat him over the head with it. And maybe not even then.

"Do you require my assistance?" Rock Lee asked.

She shook her head. "Thanks, Lee," she said, "but it's easier, and less noticeable, for one to get through. I want to stay out of sight until I can be of use. And no offense, but you're really distracting."

"I understand," he said. "Good luck!"

She smiled behind her mask, and moved again, breaking through the crowd still holding that kunai in her hand. She made proper use of it, cutting hamstrings in her foes as she went. It didn't do much for stealth, the screams shortly before they fell, but she could only blame that on close quarter fighting.

Still, it was unavoidable.

The Hokage matched Jiraiya almost perfectly, punch-punch as he leapt around, sometimes doing jutsu and sometimes attacking on his own. Orochimaru was still their equal, was still holding his own as he fought them, and she knew that it would not take long at all before he used his poison to hurt them. He could hold two off for a long time, but his stamina would not last forever--something he would know all too well. He would definitely have a weapon with him that would make his victory all but certain.

Sakura ducked even more fully into the fighting, hidden by flashing blades and illusionary jutsu, using them for cover as she found her foxhole.

She hid there, in the wrecked remains of a food stand, made all the more perilous by the broken beams that would threaten impalement if not decapitation. It really was the perfect place to hide, since her coat matched the stand's fabric almost perfectly. It even had a nice view.

Not that she expected to be here forever.

Instead, she focused on the battle, plotting. She needed to figure out a way to turn this in their favor, fast. Orochimaru might not look tired yet, but it was certain that he wanted to keep it that way. Exhaustion was bad, when you were planning to overthrow a country, and his men were good but not quite that good. Not any more than normal, anyway.

Which wasn't to say that Konoha was necessarily home of the elite, either. All that they had was Naruto. Sound had Sasuke.

As expected, the Otokage was starting to waver. His attacks no longer flowed smoothly as he dodged the Hokage's punches, blocked the frog hermit's kicks with his sword. Her eyes narrowed when, suddenly, she found exactly what she was looking for.

Slowly, painstakingly, Sakura formed the seals for the only jutsu she could afford to do. Kuchiyose no Jutsu. The summon technique. A tiny slug stared up at her, barely half of the size of her hand. She smiled in relief. Perfectly sized.

The small slug looked up at her quietly, something that all of them had learned to do. She moved it closer to her chest, and it turned in her hand so that they were both facing the same direction. She pointed her finger towards an outcropping of rocks, where a glint had been visible just seconds before.

"Kabuto," she whispered quietly, almost tonelessly.

She didn't need to say anything more. The slug slid up to her hand, and did not protest when she threw it like a ball, so that it landed right beside Katsuya. The slug would be able to tell him the message, and Katsuya would be able to act from there. He could easily form more slugs, and they could easily do what she had asked them to.

Kabuto was too close to Orochimaru. There would be a reason for that. For that, and for him to break into their hospital. He'd been after something. And the chances of it being for their side were so minimal as to be a joke. Especially after what he'd done to Hinata.

She exhaled, panted, trying to keep herself conscious and aware. Her chakra was so low as to be laughable, but it wasn't the lack so much as the use that brought her down. She'd never had much stamina in the first place, and while an hour's sleep was better than none, she definitely could use some rest and relaxation.

Which, of course, was so accessible on a battlefield.

The lack of movement made her feet itch, throbbing in time with her heartbeat. She nearly cried, but any sound would only betray her position. She knew better than that. Kakashi had taught her better than that. Any amount of textbooks had all but drilled that fact into her brain, back when she had been wondering what would make her cry out in battle. Everything was so much easier in textbooks. You did this, you did that, and if you didn't do this the trap was bound to explode in your face.

Maybe she should write a book next time. Textbooks really were like fairy tales sometimes.

After a long moment, Katsuya melted, shedding a dozen man-sized slugs that scattered around. They moved towards the monument, they moved towards the battleground, and they even moved towards her. They sought.

She kept her eyes open, knowing all too well that if she had spotted him, Kabuto was bound to know that she--or at least the person she appeared to be--was there as well. Expecting him to fall for her disguise was almost entirely out of the question. A spy himself, he wasn't born yesterday. Everyone was a fake until proven genuine.

There he was. She noticed him sneaking away, making his way as far from the slugs as possible. She smirked genuinely disgusted. If he thought that a clone was going to save him, he was sorely mistaken. The large slug clones were merely a feint, to hide the real danger--her own slug.

Kabuto screamed, a muffled, pain-filled scream as the slug smothered him, its skin a surface of chakra energy that numbed the brain, shorting the nerves that controlled movement so that his arms were unable to peel the creature off his face.

Assassin slugs. Her very favorite weapon. It would be able to scent and follow the trail of whomever it had been sent to find. Or perhaps "scent" was the wrong word. Nevertheless, at such a small size, it would be easy to underestimate. Countless others had made the same mistake.

The scream had drawn Orochimaru's attention, and she saw him hesitate slightly as whatever plan he'd had for the spy suddenly faded. But that hesitation did not make itself into an advantage for their team, because, of course, he was not so foolish as to come here without a dozen backup plans. The point was for him to win the war. One spy did not make much of a difference in the long run, no matter how useful in their scheme, however trusted that spy was.

It was time to move. Sakura slid backwards, trying to avoid sharp stakes of wood as the feet, the groans of pain, the screams that came immediately before death grew ever closer to her hiding spot.

She pushed herself up onto her feet, but was unable to wait for balance, necessity driving her into the fray again. She ignored the stars that spun around her head, the dots floating around her vision. She was seconds away from fainting dead away, and well she knew it.

Tsunade's scream cut the air, shredded her heart as she heard it. She moved faster.

Shizune. Where was Shizune? The Hokage was screaming. What was Shizune doing, not being there?

She stepped into view, ignoring the fact that there was absolutely no cover here, where the legendary sannin were fighting, protected by an invisible circle that the outside couldn't quite touch. It was entirely possible that there was a sniper here somewhere, and she had just walked into a trap.

She knew immediately that she had. The Otokage had noticed her slug the same way Kabuto had, and had seen fit to draw her out by attacking her precious Hokage. Jiraiya was also down, and she saw that his leg was bleeding--Orochimaru had cut his hamstring. How ironic. The frog hermit couldn't hop anymore.

Jiraiya was crawling slowly towards Tsunade, who was no longer moving. From where she was, Sakura could not even tell if she was breathing. Which was just as well, because she needed all of her attention on Orochimaru now.

"Shizune," he said. Behind her mask, her eyebrows rose. Was that who he thought she was? "It's about time you show up. Everyone was waiting."

"Shut up," she said. She noticed that he flinched slightly in surprise, and tried to reframe his taunts. Wrong target. "I'm here to kill you and save my village," she continued, "nothing else matters."

That made him laugh, shocking. "So patriotic."

She smiled. "I always have been," she agreed, moving closer. "Same as you."

This time he was surprised, and it almost showed. "Same as me?" He repeated.

"Minus the megalomaniacal streak," she amended. "But you can't have everything."

That leveled him out. "I see," he said. "You're right. You can't have everything. I expected to still have Kabuto with me, but you've seen fit to take him away. Who are you, anyway?"

"Just the Goddess of supremely lucky ninjas," she said. There was no hiding the smile in her voice. "Haruno Sakura, at your service."

"I see," he said again. And struck.

In the second before impact, Sakura thought that it was entirely likely that Orochimaru had expected to catch her in an illusion as he moved. To shade a killing aura, like the one he had used on her and Sasuke all those years ago, when his goal had been to damn the only person she'd ever loved.

As low as her chakra was, there was no reason to drop it completely and break out of the illusion. Besides, with all of the pain she was in, she couldn't be bothered to get caught up in it.

That did not stop her from losing all of the breath in her lungs as two strong arms wrapped around her, pulling her out of the way of the blow. The Otokage hissed, the sword in his mouth missing her by inches, and his elongated neck turned to follow them.

"What are you doing, throwing your life away?" Itachi's familiar voice murmured in her ear. "I told you that I would be the one to kill you."

It was pure stupidity to feel relief in those arms, to actually release a breath she hadn't been aware she was holding. It was stupid, and yet, there was nothing else she could do. These arms had carried her for so long, had tended to her for so long, protecting her from the outside world even though that had honestly been the last thing he'd been doing. He had been her savior then only accidentally.

"What are you doing here?" She asked, and her voice was surprisingly weak.

There was a small chuckle in her ear. "I, too, have a patriotic streak," he informed her.

She laughed in return. "You came, then. Didn't I tell you? Konoha welcomed you back, just like she always did."

He set her down on her feet. "So you said," he agreed. And moved to meet Orochimaru head-on. The second both parties were distracted, Sakura ran to Tsunade's side, dropping to her knees beside her.

Jiraiya was already there, trying to staunch the bleeding. "She's alive," he said. He looked up at where Itachi and Orochimaru were fighting, interest and surprise flickering in his eyes. "What's going on?"

"Nothing special," she said, and firmly took over. "A Leaf nin's come home in the aid of Konoha. That's all."

"That's all?" He repeated, and looked again. "How did you manage that?"

She laughed out loud. "You'd be surprised. I don't think half the people I told actually believed me when I told them. And it's not as though I'm a liar."

Her tone was just light enough, just innocent enough, that the old man's eyes flicked toward her with a kind of knowing. In the world of shinobi, honesty was only as good as your best meal, and often it wasn't exactly encouraged. You told the truth to your superiors. Everyone else got potluck unless you were told otherwise.

"How's your leg?" She asked, looking at him in concern. "It looks pretty bad. Did he hit anything serious?"

"Just the hamstring," Jiraiya said. He shook his head. "It might be poisoned."

She nodded. "I expected as much." One of the slugs had approached then, and its stomach pulled away to reveal a case of vials. She took it, pulling it out to examine. "I thought so. It's antivenin. This is why Kabuto broke into the hospital. He knew we were going to have some there, and he wanted to get it as far away from us as possible." Her eyes flickered to the slug and she smiled. "Good job."

"Will you need anything else?" The slug asked politely. Apparently, it didn't know her very well. Those that did knew she didn't spare much time for talking. Of course, if it had come from Katsuya, that was only to be expected. She wasn't much for epic battles.

She inclined her head. "Go back on standby," she instructed. "We might still need you."

It inclined its head slightly, sliming away at an easy pace. Sakura immediately turned to apply the antivenin in Tsunade, giving Jiraiya another vial. There wasn't much else she could do after that, other than try to slow the blood. But the Hokage was weakening, and they both knew it. She didn't even rouse as they worked on her.

"Can you do anything?" Jiraiya asked after a long time in desperate frustration. There wasn't much hope in his words. He knew as well as she did that she was merely an apprentice and, as such, not expected to know much. They had never had much time together before this.

She shook her head. "I don't have the chakra," she said. "And in this condition, leaving her be is less dangerous than being unable to complete the healing." She signed a slug over--though, typically, only the small assassin-slug understood the signal. It came over immediately, very fast considering its size. "Get Shizune," she instructed.

It moved without needing any more information than that. It went promptly to the larger slugs, who shrunk to the same size, dividing into a hundred others that swarmed away like a river of white rice.

Sakura turned around so that she could tend Tsunade while watching the battle, watching Orochimaru fall, seemingly defeated. Itachi turned, looking at her in return. His eyes were red, but his expression, as she looked, was strange. Complicated. Relieved. Frustrated. Worried. All of these emotions sparked his eyes, and there was nothing that she could say that would make it any better.

The Leaf nin-turned-Akatsuki-turned-Leaf ally was still looking at her, and he did not notice the way the skin fell away from his opponent's body. He did not notice the scales that erupted from the skin, the giant snake Orochimaru became.

He did not notice until the snake attacked him, biting him with long, jagged fangs.

Itachi cried out, but his eyes glowed even more red. Sakura watched in disbelief as the snake caught fire, a black flame that ate at it and did not die out. The snake let him go, and lashed around, trying to put the fire out. Trying to kill the man. Trying to stop the pain that held it in its paws and refused to let go.

Itachi lay on the ground, bleeding, and was unable to move. Sakura ran for him without hesitation, leaving the two other sannin to pull one of Konoha's most dangerous enemy's out of harm's way. She wrapped her arms around his back, grabbing him under the armpits to pull him away. For some reason, she knew better than to get between him and his opponent, just in case eye contact was necessary to continue the jutsu that burned Orochimaru black.

Nevertheless, dragging him was not painless. He panted, making weak sounds of pain that sounded almost unnatural coming from him rather than her.

She lay him down, falling to her knees next to him. His eyes were closed, and when he opened them they were black instead of red. Sweat beaded on his face. "Are you all right?" She asked worriedly, trying to mop it away with the corner of her filthy borrowed coat.

The question made him smile, a little. "Never better," he said. And then he frowned at her. "You know, you lied to me."

She smiled back. "I do that," she said. "You lied, too."

"Naruto is here," Itachi said and choked, pain rendering him speechless as he waited for it to recede. She pat his head, trying to calm him down, to help him through this. She pulled another vial of antivenin out of the packet, injected it into him. He shook his head. "It won't work," he said. "The venom's too strong."

"It will work," she insisted, although she knew that much, too. "Tsunade made it with Orochimaru in mind. It has to work."

"Nevertheless," he said, "Konoha's not going to want you to waste it on someone like me."

"I'm not wasting it," she said firmly, "on someone like you. It's yours. You helped us. This will be your payment. Very cheap, no?"

He laughed again, and groaned in pain. "They're not going to agree to that," he said.

"It's already done." She moved some more so that she could get a better look at his wound, cutting the fabric of his shirt where the fangs had stabbed into him. It went into his stomach on both sides, and right there, between his heart and collarbone. The opposing fang on that side only barely glancing off his spine. It had been a perfect blow, she realized. It had landed exactly where the Otokage had wanted it to. Itachi hadn't moved at all, but if he had turned even a little, the fang would have broken his spine. He could have been paralyzed so easily.

Her heart felt frozen. Even though he wasn't paralyzed now, the venom was right by his heart. And it was highly acidic. It would burn through the valves with little effort at all. Meanwhile, his stomach would be undergoing the same treatment. And his spine, while not hurt now, would undoubtedly also be in danger.

Itachi was going to die.

Itachi had caught the change in her attitude. He looked at her with his fathomless black eyes, and smiled. "You don't think I'm going to make it," he guessed, correctly.

She shook her head sharply, immediately putting her hands over the wound in his shoulder. "I can fix this," she said quietly, her eyes narrowing with determination. Her hands flickered green, faded, and then grew brighter. "I will fix this," she repeated. "You're going to be okay."

He smiled. "If it can be done, it would be you," he said. He closed his eyes, lifted his hand up to touch her shoulder. "I don't mind dying. I always thought it would be Sasuke who actually killed me, but I don't mind dying. I've really done a lot of horrible things. I'm glad that Konoha welcomed me back. Just like you said it would. I didn't want to believe it."

She laughed, weakly. The color grew even more bright as the acid was pulled from his shoulder, the wound closing up. "People usually don't," she agreed. There was unbelievable pressure on her fingers, and she could hear them cracking as the recently broken bones protested their use. "Believe in me. I don't know why."

He smiled. "Who knows?" One of his eyes opened. "Want to get married? One liar to another?"

She laughed. "Absolutely," she said. "As soon as you're better. In spring. We'll get married, and we can have two kids. Girl and boy. Akina and Michio. I'll work at the hospital and you can restart the Konoha police force and join ANBU part-time."

She almost didn't notice that she was babbling the same thing to him she had told Sasuke just a few days ago. All she knew was that he was still alive. Here, now, for one more heartbeat, Itachi was alive.

His eye closed again. "That's a plan," he said quietly, amusement just barely lightening his tone.

And died.

* * *

Beyond all expectation, the world did not suddenly end with Itachi's death. Though at the time, Sakura had been certain that it had. Chakra exhaustion had her fainting seconds after his heart stopped beating, while she tried to get him to wake up, to open his eyes again. To breath again.

He did none of these things. And so, when Sakura opened her eyes again, it was just to be expected that he wasn't there when she woke up.

Actually, there was no one there. She stared up a white ceiling, quite unable to move, her hands wrapped with gauze and both of her feet in casts. Her eyes flickered to the desk where, among flowers and fruit and books, countless books, a white mask with black swirls lay on top of a black coat. She smiled.

"ANBU, huh?" She mused.

The door opened and Shizune walked in, holding a clipboard in very efficient hands. She looked down at Sakura in surprise and smiled. "So you're awake," she noticed. "How are you doing this morning?"

She considered it. There was no real feeling of pain, and, for once, her feet did not hurt. Actually, they itched. It was the curse of casts. The instant you couldn't touch something, it had to itch.

"Alive," she finally answered. "There's no pain. How is Tsunade-sama? Is she all right?"

Shizune nodded. "For the moment," she said. "I heard that you're the one who sent the slugs to get me. That was a good idea."

"The only idea," Sakura said. She closed her eyes. "I knew I couldn't help her."

"And yet you try to save a member of Akatsuki?" The woman prompted. Sakura opened her eyes again. Shizune was looking at her levelly, one dark eyebrow raised. It was easy to tell how this woman had become the real power behind Konoha. "What were you thinking? He was probably there for Naruto."

"He was there because Konoha needed help," Sakura argued. "This was his home, as much as it's mine. He was the only member of Akatsuki there, or did you notice? He saved my life and he killed Orochimaru. What else do you want to know?"

Shizune made an annoyed sound in the back of her throat. "You do realize that the council is going to think that you had something to do with him being here," she said quickly, in annoyance. "Your entire reputation is shot. Not everyone missed your little proposal."

"I have no intention of hiding it," she said in return. "Itachi saved my life and he saved Konoha. There are worse people to marry."

"Like Sasuke?" Shizune prompted. "You aren't going to tell me that he was there to save Konoha, are you? I saw him kill our people so easily. He didn't even hesitate."

She'd seen much the same thing. But... "If you hesitate, you die," she said. "Sasuke had a reason to continue living. You notice that he didn't let Orochimaru absorb him and use him as a new body, didn't you?"

"Do you think that means he's on our side?"

"No," she agreed, after a long moment's thought. Her eyes drifted shut again. "But it doesn't mean he's on their side, either."

Shizune made a sound of disgust. "Go back to sleep," she said. "I'll wake you in an hour for your medicine."

Sakura didn't answer. She already had the sleeping part covered, thanks.

* * *

The next several weeks were filled with nothing but debriefings. Sakura spent most of it in the hospital, unable to see anyone except for the officials who came in to see her. The Hokage she saw only rarely, and only near the end of her hospital stay.

She'd spoken to the clan elders, and several others, and had nearly driven them all insane by refusing to answer the questions of people without full security clearance. And then, when she finally answered those questions, she'd answered them with complete honestly.

Funny, they didn't believe her any more than anyone else did. And it wasn't as though she was a _dishonest_ person.

She knew all too well that she hadn't been stuck in the hospital for purely medical reasons. And it wasn't entirely for debriefing, either. The security in the building was highly optimal. She knew without having to be told that they suspected her to have a relationship with Akatsuki. The hospital was the perfect place to watch supposed terrorists without attracting notice.

She never saw Naruto.

Sakura leaned against the wall of the her room in complete mental and emotional exhaustion. No Kakashi, no Yamato. No Sai. All she had was a mask, an enemy momento that she wasn't even allowed to legally wear. Not that she was specifically advised against it, but still.

She was afraid to look in a mirror. Not because it was matter too much what she looked like--Lee would always shower her with the same devotion, and once Naruto got over the shock, it wasn't as though he'd abandon her. And as for Sai...well, he'd never thought that she was pretty in the first place. So looks weren't important.

Changes, however, were a different story. Itachi's death had not left her without scars, and it was impossible to imagine that none of them were visible.

She slid out of bed, reaching for the mask with hesitant fingers. The surface was cold, smooth under her hand, the whorl of black and red spirals making a pattern that was both familiar and terrifying, comforting and alien.

It _felt _right.

She put it on and grabbed the coat that went with it, washed clean but littered with holes. Stab wounds, slashes and scorch marks. This coat had seen so many adventures. She stuck her arms into the sleeves, wrapped it around her body, but didn't bother with the fastenings. There really was no point, after all. She still put the hood up.

Only then did she look into the mirror, and the figure staring back was completely unrecognizable. Aside from the night clothes that were hers, it was almost impossible to tell who she was. Small and slight in a coat that was much too big for her.

She wrapped the coat a little more tightly around her, holding it closed, and walked out of the room.

Sasuke was right outside, looking outside the window. He looked at her quickly, his dark eyes narrowing almost imperceptably when they saw the mask. She knew the instant he recognized her because, the second he did, he immediately looked away again, facing the moonlight once again with characteristic seriousness.

"So," he said. There was a strange tone in his voice. "You made ANBU."

She leaned back against the doorframe. She didn't have to be told that if she went too close to him without permission he would fade away like a mirage. "Who knows?" She asked, and followed that rhetorical question up with another. "Why are you still here?"

As expected, he did not answer for a very long time. "My brother's dead," he finally said, his voice surprisingly hesitant. "I didn't expect it to be like this."

She said nothing. This ending hadn't been what she'd expected, either. But if she said the wrong word now, he would disappear. The only thing she could do was say nothing.

Sasuke looked at her, and his expression was as lost as his voice. "You stole that from me," he said.

She pushed away from the wall, sticking her hands into the pockets of the coat. "I did," she agreed sadly. "I convinced the perfect brother you used to worship to come home and help his country. I stole your vengeance. I would say that I'm sorry, but that doesn't seem very appropriate considering the circumstances.

"But I _am _sorry that you lost your clear-cut ending," she said. "I can't even imagine how you're feeling right now."

"Me neither," he said.

She almost smiled. Once upon a time, she had never thought that he'd talk like this to her. But she'd been the only one he ever had talked to; she'd annoyed him until he'd have said anything to shut her up. Then he'd had to justify the things he'd said, explain them so that she would understand it. Like most people, Sasuke possessed a strong desire to be understood. Just one person was enough.

That was something that he'd taught her, whose very survival had depended on remaining underestimated.

"You would have saved him," Sasuke said, interrupting her thoughts. His dark eyes watched her, completely without expression. He was, she thought, searching for something solid to hold onto.

He trusted that she wouldn't lie to him.

"I wanted to," she agreed. She dropped her gaze, looking at the floor. Reflecting on memories that would forever paint her nightmares red. "But even if I had, he wouldn't have survived. That was probably the best end he could have hoped for under those circumstances. Even if it wasn't you, it was still an end that he chose for himself."

"And you would have married him?"

There was some kind of importance, some kind of urgency behind his question. She smiled at him, trying to soothe. Trying to answer a question he refused to give words to. "Absolutely," she said. "Didn't I tell you before? _No one_ can compare."

"Even me?"

* * *

That night, when Sasuke left Konoha, Sakura went with him. She didn't ask, but she knew that night was the night of his execution. It wasn't important. She didn't mention it, but they both knew her fate in following him. It was a fate that he had never wished for her, and that Sakura had never dared contemplate since that one night those three years ago.

It was a fate that she found impossible to regret even now.

Sasuke didn't have vengeance anymore. He had absolutely nothing to hold onto. If he died like this, it would be a very pitiful thing.

So, together they would go hunt the rest of Akatsuki. They wouldn't let the group threaten Naruto, or anyone else, ever again.

Sakura tore up the piece of paper in her coat pocket. There was no reason to tell Sasuke that she was doing so under orders. His innocence was one of his better features sometimes. He wasn't meant for political intrigue.

She'd keep that from him as long as she could.

* * *

**Note**: This actually ends a lot more abruptly than I thought it would. It's pretty open-ended. You can take it as you like. And before you ask, there is not going to be a sequel. This took long enough as it was.

You can thank **Nightwing101** for this chapter. I was asked to update sometime during NaNoWriMo, so I told them to tell me again around the start of December. If any of _you_ want me to work on anything else, you should try nagging around my birthday in February. That's the 10th. Those two occasions are the only times you're likely to find me in a charitable, writing mood. Just ask **Hiei's Cute Girl**.

Speaking of which, if you like this story, please go read my latest project, _An Armed Truce_. It's another Naruto fic featuring the ever-sarcastic Sakura, on her eternal mission of bringing Sasuke-kun back home again. And, of course, Itachi makes an appearance as well. There's never been a Goddess quite like this Sakura, and I plan on keeping it that way. So, if you have the time, please check it out.

Thank you **NightWing101**, **poornmiserable**, **Murasaki Kurai**, **xI-Am-Your-Angel-Of-Music-x**, **Ahnkitomi**, **BlackButterfly-RedRose**, **Hiei's Cute Girl**, **fakemirage**, **darklace15**, **Laura-chan**, **Kurenai no Chinoumi**, **nolongerbeingused**, **kakashifaves**, **xantidote**, **Silantiver**, **pnaixrose**, **chibi-tori12**, **Blacksash**, **dark Alley**, **Imeralt Evalon**, **Kaze ni Tenshi**, **Cursed-Melody**, **Anichan**, **ShivaAeon**, **kutijenn**, **sillymail**, **Sailor Silver Moon**, **blackXheart**, **4everDestined**, and **.** for reviewing!


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